Grab a glass and put on your favorite laid-back California tunes–it’s California Wine Month! Dedicated to recognizing the amazing wines that are a regular product of the state, September is all about showing some California Love to the amazing vineyards, winemakers, Sommeliers and more that call the state home. To celebrate, we asked online retailer Wines Til Sold Out to select 4 wines perfect for showing love to the Golden State this month.
AXR Winery Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
If you’re looking for a stellar 2014 Napa Cab, this is it! Coming in at 94 points, the 2014 AXR Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley is sourced from the Hossfeld Vineyard on Atlas Peak and the Montgomery Vineyard in Calistoga. Noted as, “richly fruity, full-bodied, and “opulent,” by wine critic Robert Parker, his score puts this wine alongside elite Napa Valley Cabernets like Alejandro Bulgheroni, Eisele Vineyard, and Staglin wines.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose: cedar, blackberries, gingerbread, sage, macerated cherries, licorice, cotton candy, and potpourri
On the palate: velvety entrance on a backbone of acidity lingering on granular tannins, touches of cherry pie, cassis, plums, fern, and tobacco
Alpha Omega Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
Alpha Omega Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is handcrafted from fruit grown in a range of exceptional Napa Valley terroirs and demonstrates how the region’s tremendous soil diversity helps produce memorable wines. A perennial powerhouse, this Cabernet was rated at 95 points by Wine Enthusiast. Blending fruit from six estate-farmed vineyards – ranging from the cool breezes of Coombsville up to the high slopes of Spring Mountain – it’s no reason why Alpha Omega is known around the world for its exceptional Cabernets filled with depth and complexity.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose: cedar with touches of thyme, sawdust, licorice, pine needles, plum, tapenade, sour cherry, and lemon meringue pie
On the palate: velvety entrance with beautiful fruit and fine tannins, touches of boysenberries, dark cherries, mandarin orange, star fruit, and wild raspberry
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Fay Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District 2016
The FAY vineyard is where it all began for Stag’s Leap 50 years ago this year. Once described by Founder Warren Winiarski as, “an iron fist in a velvet glove,” Stag’s Leap FAY Cabernet Sauvignon is silky and polished with vibrant fruit and spice flavors. Well-received among wine-lovers and the Smithsonian alike (no, really, there’s a bottle in the Smithsonian!), this is one you surely don’t want to miss.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose: ripe raspberry, boysenberry, black cherry, hints of cinnamon, and lightly roasted coffee
On the palate: a rich core of fruit and silky tannins, with a berry pie and baking spice finish